One million computer viruses expected this year

Security experts expect the number of computer viruses to number one million by the end of the year.  They say this is because individuals and businesses have vastly improved their security practices, forcing malware writers to create new types of viruses and exploits.

Paul Ducklin, chief technology officer with Sophos said that 25% of unique malware has been created in the last six months in its 20 year history.  That’s a scary thought.

He said to PCWorld, “about 85 to 90 percent of malware families have a fix created for them almost immediately.”  But even a 90% passing rate isn’t good enough for the VB100 tests.

“Malware writers aren’t getting the same bang for buck as they used to because businesses and consumers have become much more diligent with security over the last five years.

The number of infectious e-mail attachments getting through are down from about one in 40 [about five years ago] to one in 1000.”

The reduction in infections can be attributed to better gateway filters, better corporate policies, user education and a rise in legitimate email traffic.  The security industry has finally got a handle on conventional spam, phishing attacks but needs to concentrate on “drive-by-downloads.”

These attacks allow hackers to redirect users to malicious websites by specifically crafted code within legitimate sites and may not be immediately obvious.  This could allow them to take over the computer, network or compromise personal data entered into the website.

F-Secure Asia logs 25,000 malware samples each day and if the trend continues will reach one million by the end of the year.  It sounds like the plans of the world’s virus makers are to hold the world hostage or they’ll release one million viruses, that could be a problem if it was all at once.  Sounds like a movie, but they’d never make it, never.

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